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Buying Sight Unseen at Fort Campbell

Should you buy a house sight unseen when you PCS to Fort Campbell?

You can buy a home you have not walked through.You trade seeing it yourself for video, an inspection and the paperwork.

For a Permanent Change of Station (PCS) move, this page shows what the choice turns on, how to check a home from far away, and how to sign when you cannot be there. Fort Campbell sits on the Kentucky and Tennessee state line, so the state the home is in matters too.

VA, Army and state sourcesChecked October 2026

Start Here

What buying sight unseen means

You sign for a home you have not been inside. Other people see it for you.

You do not have to be there to close on a VA loan. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Lenders Handbook says VA lets you name someone to sign loan papers for you, so service members overseas, and others who cannot be there, can still get a VA loan.

What changes is how you learn about the home. Three things stand in for your own eyes: a live video walk-through, a home inspection by a licensed inspector, and, with a VA loan, the VA appraisal. A VA appraisal is not a home inspection, so it does not replace one.

We are not going to tell you whether to buy before you arrive. This page shows what each way costs you, and how to check a home you cannot visit.

Sources: VA Lenders Handbook, Chapter 9 (Topic 8 a) and Chapter 12 (Topic 1 b), VA. Retrieved 27 October 2026.

Side by Side

Buy before you arrive, or rent first

Neither one is right for every family. They trade different things.

Buy before you arrive

Sight unseen
How you see the home

On video, in photos and in reports

Where you stay when you get there

In the home, if it has closed

Ask what happens if closing slips past your report date.

How many moves

One

The risk

Something the video and the inspection did not show

With a VA loan

Move in within 60 days of closing

A later set date can count. See below.

Rent first

Buy after you arrive
How you see the home

In person

Where you stay when you get there

A rental or on post housing first

How many moves

Two: into the rental, then into the home

The risk

Paying rent while you look, and a lease to plan around

With a VA loan

The same rule, from the day you close

Buying first can save a move. Renting first lets you see the home.

If you close long before you can move in. VA's handbook says a reasonable time to move in is within 60 days after closing. More than 60 days can count if you sign that you will move in on a specific date, and a specific future event makes that date possible. More than 12 months after closing generally cannot count. Ask your lender whether your date counts. Our guide VA loan occupancy rules covers the rest, including when a spouse or child can meet the rule for you.

Source: VA Lenders Handbook, Chapter 3 (Topic 5 b and c), VA. Retrieved 27 October 2026.

From Far Away

How to check a home you cannot visit

Do these before your deadlines in the contract run out, not after.

Ask for a live video walk-through

A live call lets you steer the camera. Ask to see the roof, ceilings, floors, under the sinks, the heating and cooling system, the outside of the home and the yard. Ask them to run the water and the heat or air while you watch.

Get a home inspection, and read the whole report

VA's handbook says a VA appraiser notes repairs that are easy to see, but does not check that the home's systems or appliances work. The Notice of Value VA issues after the appraisal says you may wish to get a home inspection. Our guide The VA appraisal shows what the appraisal does check.

Ask what the inspection will not cover. Tennessee's home inspector program says inspectors there do not have to walk the roof, go into a crawlspace that is blocked or unsafe, or look for mold. Ask your inspector for photos of anything they could not reach.

If the home was built before 1978

Before you sign, federal law says the seller must tell you what they know about lead-based paint in the home. It also gives you 10 days to have the home tested for lead paint, unless you and the seller agree in writing to a different time, or you give up that right. Foreclosure sales are one kind of sale the rule leaves out.

Look up the flood map

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) lets you search its flood maps by address. Look up a home on FEMA's Flood Map Service Center. Ask your lender whether the home needs flood insurance.

Never wire money from an email alone

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) warns that scammers send fake emails that change the instructions for wiring closing money. If you get an email with wiring instructions, stop. Call the company at a number you know is real, not one in the email.

Sources: VA Lenders Handbook, Chapter 12 (Topic 1), VA; What to Know About Home Inspectors, Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance, 30 June 2021; Real Estate Disclosures about Potential Lead Hazards, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); Flood Map Service Center, FEMA; Protect your mortgage closing from scammers, FTC, 27 June 2017. Retrieved 27 October 2026.

Closing From Far Away

How to sign when you cannot be there

Ask your lender and the closing company how you will sign as soon as you have a contract.

Someone can sign for you

With a power of attorney, you name someone to sign for you. VA's handbook calls that person your attorney-in-fact. For a VA loan, the power of attorney has to meet the law of the state where the home is, and VA needs your written OK on the details of the purchase. With a general power of attorney, that OK is your own signature on the sales contract and the loan application.

A specific power of attorney covers those details: the home, the price and terms, what the loan is for, how much of your VA home loan benefit you are using, and that you plan to live there. VA's handbook says a military power of attorney counts as a general one, good only while you are deployed and for no more than a year. Ask your lender which kind it will accept before anyone drafts one.

Or sign it yourself, from where you are

VA's handbook says a digital signature can count as an original signature. Ask your lender and closing company whether you can sign electronically, or by mail.

Source: VA Lenders Handbook, Chapter 9 (Topic 8 b and d), VA. Retrieved 27 October 2026.

At Fort Campbell

What changes at Fort Campbell

Two offices on post can help before you sign, and the state line decides some of the rules.

Talk to the Housing Services Office before you sign

Fort Campbell's Housing Services Office advises every service member, whatever their grade or marital status, to come to it before signing an agreement to rent, lease or buy a home off post. See its page for how to reach it.

The Legal Assistance Office can help with a power of attorney

Fort Campbell's Legal Assistance Office offers walk-in powers of attorney and notarizations during business hours. It recommends you bring leases, agreements and contracts for review before you sign. It serves active duty members and their families, Guard and Reserve members on active duty more than 29 days and their families, and military retirees. Not at Fort Campbell yet? Ask the legal office where you are now. See the Legal Assistance Office page.

Kentucky or Tennessee changes some rules

Fort Campbell sits on the Tennessee and Kentucky state line. Find out which state the home is in before you plan your closing.

Your power of attorney. For a VA loan, it has to meet the law of the state where the home is.

Your inspector's license. Kentucky law says you need a license to do home inspections for pay. Some other licensed workers, like engineers, are exempt when they work inside their own license. Check a Kentucky license. Tennessee licenses home inspectors through its Department of Commerce and Insurance, which says to always use a licensed one. Check a Tennessee license.

Your taxes. Our guide Kentucky or Tennessee at Fort Campbell shows what the line does to your money.

Sources: Fort Campbell Housing Services Office, Legal Assistance Office and installation history page, U.S. Army Fort Campbell; VA Lenders Handbook, Chapter 9 (Topic 8 b), VA; KRS 198B.712 and KRS 198B.702, Kentucky General Assembly; Tennessee Home Inspector Licensing Program and What to Know About Home Inspectors, Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance. Retrieved 27 October 2026.

The Limits

What this page does not decide

This page is not legal or financial advice, and it does not tell you whether to buy before you arrive. Your lender and VA decide your loan. A legal assistance office can help with a power of attorney. A licensed inspector can tell you about the home's condition. Ask each one before you sign.

A page can explain the steps.A local agent can help with the home.

Jennifer Lundberg is a Mission Ready Operator at Fort Campbell who specializes in sight-unseen home purchases for incoming military personnel.

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Last reviewed October 2026 · Maintained by My Military HQ

Common Questions

Questions buyers ask about buying sight unseen

Can you buy a house sight unseen with a VA loan?

Yes. You do not have to be there to close. VA's Lenders Handbook says VA lets you name someone to sign loan papers for you, so service members overseas and others who cannot be there can still get a VA loan. You still sign that you plan to live there, or that your spouse will if duty keeps you away. Ask your lender what it needs from you.

Is a VA appraisal the same as a home inspection?

No. VA's handbook says the appraiser notes repairs that are easy to see, but does not check that the home's systems or appliances work. The Notice of Value VA issues after the appraisal says you may wish to get a home inspection.

Should you buy a house before you PCS to Fort Campbell?

That is your call. Buying first can mean one move and a home ready when you get there, but you see it only on video and in reports. Renting first means you see homes in person, but you move twice. Fort Campbell's Housing Services Office advises every service member to talk with it before signing to rent, lease or buy off post.

How do you sign closing papers if you cannot be there?

Ask your lender and closing company early. VA's handbook lets someone you name in a power of attorney sign for you, if the power of attorney meets the law of the state where the home is. VA also needs your written OK on the details of the purchase. With a general power of attorney, that OK is your own signature on the sales contract and the loan application. The handbook says digital signatures can count as an original signature.

What if you close more than 60 days before you can move in?

VA's handbook says a reasonable time to move in is within 60 days after closing. More than 60 days can count if you sign that you will move in on a specific date, and a specific future event makes that date possible. More than 12 months after closing generally cannot count. If active duty keeps you from moving in, your spouse or dependent child moving in can meet the rule. Ask your lender who signs for it.

How do you avoid wire fraud when you buy from far away?

If you get an email with instructions to wire money, stop. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) says email is not a safe way to send money details. Call the company at a number you know is real, not one in the email. If you already sent money, ask your bank right away to recall the wire, and report it to the FTC and to the FBI at ic3.gov.

Sources

Where every rule came from

Every rule on this page comes from the agency, office or law that sets it. We link each one so you can check it.

What we left out on purpose. We do not cover what a seller must tell you about the home under Kentucky or Tennessee law. Each state has its own rules, and we could not check both against the official text for this page. Ask your agent which disclosure form the seller owes. We give no phone numbers or hours for the offices on post, because they change: use their pages. We do not say which town or side of the line to buy on.

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